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PSS seeks funding for school opening
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Posted on Jul 17 2000
The Public School System has requested Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for additional resources for School Year 2000-2001 to help the agency hire some 76 full-time equivalents needed for the public education sector.
Dr. Rita H. Inos, commissioner of education, is seeking some $640,000 in supplemental budget for personnel allotments to enable PSS meet the teacher and staff requirement of the new Kagman Elementary School.
Hiring additional personnel would also enable the school the cut down the average class size to 20 from the current 30 students per teacher.
The 76 FTEs is only a portion of the 174 current vacancies available as a result of the reduction in personnel allotments in the last two years. The reduction was imposed as part of the administration’s austerity policy to cope with the decline in revenues.
The positions have remained vacant since 1999 when the PSS’ budget was cut back to $36 million from $41 million.
“These positions are very critical for the smoother operations of our schools this coming opening,” Dr. Inos reported during a Board of Education meeting last week.
The absence of the FY 2000 budget, Dr. Inos admitted, was hampering the school system to carry out its original plans to open the coming school year hassle-free.
But despite financial constraints, PSS has vowed to utilize current operating allotments to fund school operating costs during the months covering July through September from its reserved administrative funds.
PSS’ main concern is generating funds to fill in various positions needed to be filled from bus drivers to teachers and school principals.
Barely three months into the next fiscal year, PSS reports it has already expended some 74 percent of its total personnel allotment. PSS’ payroll costs for the current year now total $24,574.000 million.
The figure, according to Dr. Inos, was supposed to cover the school system’s expenditure for the year. However, the numbers also suggested that PSS has no more resources within its existing personnel allotments to accommodate more positions.
Dr. Inos also expressed hopes that the PSS FY 2001 spending package is approved before the next fiscal year begins. (MM)
